Recession Chair

by Tjep.

In response to Europe’s looming economic crisis, Dutch design studio Tjep. has created a chair that’s a visual representation of the current financial situation.

Beginning with a mass-produced chair from IKEA, Tjep. whittled away half of the structure. On one side, the chair appears ‘normal,’ with full legs, seat and backrest. As the chair extends to the left, it diminishes to its raw skeletal form.

‘At Dutch Design Week, I was struck by how little the design world seems to react to the immanent economic crisis threatening Europe and the world,’ says designer Frank Tjepkema of Tjep. ‘We were interested in exploring the visual impact of receding in relation to a design object.’

He says the resulting object is barely functional; it can’t withstand the weight of the person it needs to support, ‘much like a society plagued by recession,’ Tjepkema says.